'Deserves it' claim made of West Brom star Tom Fellows

The pair have come through the ranks together with the Baggies. They joined aged 10, in the same school year, and more than a decade later they are first-team colleagues at The Hawthorns.

Fellows, who turns 22 on Friday, and Taylor, 22, have been side-by-side. Both made professional Baggies bows against Arsenal in 2021, both starred as teens as Albion's under-21s beat Wolves to win the Premier League Cup  - but their journeys have been different.

Winger Fellows, as of this summer a European under-21 champion with England, has enjoyed the more immediate rise into Albion senior reckoning. He swiftly became Albion's star turn and now has almost 100 appearances under his belt.

That is often the case with attackers - a quicker route on to the pitch and a potentially more open opportunity to catch the eye than with defensive prospects.

For centre-back Taylor the route has been a more scenic one. It has been via more loans - three compared to Fellows' one at Crawley - and a permanent breakthrough into first-team reckoning is yet to come.

Regardless of that, watching the rise of his close friend has been a source of joy and pride for Taylor, ever since that Friday night in the duo's home city of Birmingham in October 2023.

"We both joined at 10 so we've been together since then and I've seen his journey all the way through," Taylor told the Express & Star.

"We were on the bench together in the game against Birmingham in the Championship where he came on and did well.

"I just remember thinking 'this is a great opportunity for him and I hope he takes it'.

"He obviously did take it, played more and had an amazing rest of that season. He then kicked on last year."

Taylor and Fellows are seldom apart during down time. The competitive juices were flowing recently in Austria, where they battled it out at tennis and table tennis.

Taylor, for whom football is in the blood as dad Martin played for Blackburn, Blues and Watford among others, has made his own albeit briefer impression on Albion's first team.

He has made 11 senior appearances, but just four in the Championship. Loans in League One with Cheltenham, Bolton and Wycombe clocked up almost 100 games, however, and have served his education well.

Summer additions Nat Phillips and George Campbell are more barriers to the first team for Taylor - but ask the towering 6ft 5ins defender and he will tell you he is ready to make a similar impact of that of his close friend.

"I hate to say it but I am a big fan of his and I always hoped he did well because he deserves it," Taylor added of Fellows.

"He works so hard. His 18 months have been amazing.

"To be involved like he was in the summer (with England under-21s) for a team like that is incredible, with the standard of players, so to get a medal and even to play shows the level of player he is."